Mr. Handy’s Blues: A Musical Documentary

The release of “Mr. Handy’s Blues” will mark the first time the story of ‘The Father of the Blues’ has been documented on film. Handy is credited with transforming African-American folk music that was handed down only through oral tradition into a purely American genre of music. Against all odds Handy forged a successful career in the post Civil War south, becoming a renowned bandleader, composer, and entrepreneur. He was the first African-American to publish his own musical compositions, and in 1914 he wrote ST. LOUIS BLUES, which was the most recorded song in the first half of the 20th century. He began his career as a minstrel, and ended it as a revered visionary who brought the Blues into mainstream society and commercial viability. Handy’s life is full of family drama, racial conflict, and redemption. It moves from Florence, Alabama to the Mississippi Delta to Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. He moved to New York City and opened the first black-owned entertainment business on Broadway; and provided songs for myriad popular artists of the day, and musical theater. He is an American treasure, and we are committed to preserving his story for generations to come. Please visit the link to the trailer, and contribute to the making of this very important work. Emmy award winning Producer/Director Joanne Fish is heading up the project. We plan to present interviews with luminaries in the music business {Bobby Rush, Taj Mahal, Vince Giordano, and others} and give insight into Handy’s life and times through accounts from historians and musicologists. Our film will feature performances of Handy’s songs by current artists who are direct descendants of his musical legacy. The film’s release in 2015 will mark the 100th anniversary of Handy’s most enduring composition, ST. LOUIS BLUES.